Burt e



(No Model.)

B. E. SHATTUCK.

BANJO No. 476,083. Patented May 31, ,1892.

UNiTnD STATns PATENT OFFICE.

BURT E. SHATTUOK, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE Il. B. GATOOMB COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

BANJO.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 476,083, dated May 31, 1892.

Application tiled August 5, 1891. Serial No. 401,787. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, BURT E. SHATTUCK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Banjos, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying` drawings, making part of this specification, in

1o which- Figure 1 is a front v iew of abanjo embodying my invention, a portion of the heel end of the neck or arm being broken away. Fig. 2 is a side view of the saine. Fig. 3 is an enr 5 larged horizontal section on the line o: of Fig. 2. Fig. 4t is a vertical section on the line y y of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the spreader or separating device detached.

The constant strain of the strings of a banjo 2o upon the outer end ofits neck or arm tends to draw the latter upward, and thereby raise the strings too far above the finger-board, which injures the tone of the instrument and renders it diicult to keep it in time. To

2 5 provide a simple and eitective device for regulating the pitch of the neck with respect to the riin, and thereby keeping the strings at their proper distance from the finger-board, is the object of my invention, which consists in 3o providing the upper portion of the heel end of the neck of a banjo with a device of novel construction, whereby it is forced away or separated from the top hoop to vary the pitch or inclination of the neck or arm, as herein- 3 5 after incre fully set forth.

In the said drawings, A represents the rim of a banjo, and B the top hoop.

C is the neck or arm, and Z2 the strings. Vithin a suitable recess in the upper port-ion 4o of the heel end d of the neckOisfitted a small metal plate D, having two ribs or flanges e f, between which is placed a heart-shaped cam or bearing piece E, provided with a stud g, Fig. 11, which tits into ahole in the plate D,

4 5 said stud, which is on one side of the center of the cam, forming a pivot therefor, and also serving, by reason of being lightly riveted at the back of the plate, to prevent the cam from being separated therefrom.

The cam E is adapted to bear constantly against the top hoop B of the banjo, as seen in Figs. 1, 3, and 4, and is actuated to cause its rounded end 6 to project more or less beyond the inner end of the plate D, and thereby force the adjacent portion of the heel end of the neck away from the hoop B by a regulatiiig-screw t', which passes through the v flange f and bears against the projecting portion 10 `of the cani E, the head of the screw t lying in an aperture 7c, formed in the side of the neck C and being accessible from the outside of the same, so that it can be turned b ya screwdriver to niove the cani in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 3, and thus force it against thc hoop B, the outward thrust of the cani against the hoop at this point rocking the heel of the neck on its lower edge 12, which turns on the I rim A as a fulcrum and producing a separation between the upper edge 15 of the heel of the neck and the hoop B, as seen in Figs. 3 and fl, whereby the pitch of the neck can be changed or adjusted in such manner as to at all times maintain the strings b at their proper distance from the fret or finger-board m, any change in the pitch of the neck caused by the strain of the strings thereupon being thus easily counteracted and compensated for by simply turning the regulating-screw i with a screw-driver, as above described.

The above-described spreader or separating device is simple, compact, inexpensive, and durable, while it is not liable to get o ut of order and can be easily applied to new instruments or to those already in use, and by this means the adj ustinent of the neck to vary its pitch can be readily effected without taking the instrument to pieces or removing the strings.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a banjo,the coinbiiiation,with the rim, the top hoop B, and the neck or arm C, secured to the rim, of the cam or spreader E, pivoted to a plate fitted within a recess formed within the upper portion of the heel end of said neck or arm C and adapted to be forced out therefrom against the hoop or .adjacent portion of the banjo, and the screw t, accessible from the outside of the neck and adapted to actuate the cam E, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a banjo, the combination, with the neck or arm C andthe rim and top hoop, of a separating device secured Within a recess formed within the upper portion of the heel end of said neck or arln and adapted to produce a separation between said heel end of the -neck and the top hoop B, said separating device consisting of a cam E, provided with a progecting portion l0, a plate D, to which said cam is pivoted, said plate having ribs or flanges e f, and a screw z', accessible from the outside ol the neck and passing through the flange f, said screw being adapted to bear upon the portion lO of the cam E, whereby said cam is turned horizontally upon its pivot in contact with the top hoop B, all constructed 15 and arranged to operate substantially as dcscribed.

lVituess my hand this 27th day of July, A. D. 1891.

BURT E. SIIATTUCK.

In presence of- P. J. FARRELL, M. B. THRASHER. 

